Food for Thought
by down-understudios
Summary: One-shot taken from Xena's POV in 'Ten Little Warlords' about her thoughts on Ares' mortality and the kiss they almost shared aboard Sisyphus' ship; including an Alternative Version in Chapter #2
1. What Is

**Title: Food for Thought  
Author: **©DUS**  
****  
Couple: **X/A **  
Rating: **Drama, Romance.

**Setting: **Season 2**  
Summary: **A short one shot taken from Xena's POV in 'Ten Little Warlords' about her thoughts on Ares' mortality and the kiss that almost happened aboard Sisyphus' ship; including an alternative version in Chapter #2.

**AN:** I have to give a huge thanks to my buddy 'Xentrya' for kicking my butt into gear by nagging me to post my fics. Thanks mate!

**Disclaimer: **All characters and or settings within the Xena Verse are the sole property of their respective owners: The Creators, Ren Pictures & Universal Studios.

No profit is made or intended from the writing of this fiction.

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**Please review! You don't know how much it means to an Author to get a review on their fic and know whether you're enjoying it of if there's room for improvement. Believe me; it makes us want to write more for you.**

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"Oh, look, the weapons our Host promised us. How generous..."

His voice cascades in that old and familiar fashion of sarcasm I've heard lashing the air on so many occasions before, yet as we work our way towards the bed, its crimson sheets scattered with the faintest of shadows flickering by candlelight, I find myself more conscious than ever of the vulnerability herald behind his attitude, and it's like peering straight through a pane of glass.

"A dagger and a mace... to kill the Monster? It doesn't take an Oracle to see that Sisyphus expects us to use them against one another." My mind's made up on this fact and it sticks as hard as glue.

I'm determined by nature, or perhaps it's what he's taught me that provides my soul with an excuse for acting so stubborn, a trait I know he deeply yearns at times could melt into a sea of openness as I pull back the covers, shredding them into two long strips of white.

"Take your shirt off."

A demand I've seldom used, but the desire's there in my tone and he just gazes at me for a moment in what becomes a trace of dismembered belief before casually obeying the order like a loyal solider on the field, eventually figuring it nothing but a delusion of grandeur created inside the mind, or better said his own.

He's sitting before me now, releasing a groan of pain, or was there something else... A discernment perhaps?

I don't get a chance to debate this theory though as the question promptly leaves my lips, softer than what I'd initially expected.

"What?"

"Well..." A mortal Ares begins, lightly shifting his weight to adopt a comfier position.

The uneasiness however gives him away, yet still he refuses to budge, relishing it seems in the magic that my fingers proceed to weave, their soft tips gently fondling each section of newly discovered skin.

"You're in her body but you still have your touch. Warm, firm, passionate... Yet, at the same time gentle."

His breath becomes almost laboured then, but that doesn't deter him from continuing to reach for my hand or dare to compare me with someone else, a concept he's suddenly grown aware will disgust me as I swiftly draw my palm away, rejecting the offer of his tender kiss.

"Now, Callisto... She's all animal. You know, she starts like a cold fish, but... you press the right buttons... Hold on, it's quite a ride. Mind you, my experience with her is... rather unique. She was in your body at the time."

Oh Zeus, he's bragging now and that's supposed to make me feel, what... impressed or better? Better that he still aches for me by his side, to feel the need of my body warming his bed at night, that there's some destined sign from the Fates that we belong together not just in war and conflict but in the essence of, dare I say it... Love... only to live in the grandest knowledge that the simplest method to achieve this plight to my constant dismissals was to switch our bodies, convincing himself that maybe the Lunatic of 'Psychos R' Us' could prove a better, more complacent and willing protege than ever before without having to fully surrender the privilege of viewing my features.

You're right, it doesn't feel better.

In truth, I actually sense a tiny streak of jealousy gripping my heart in a strangely possessive kind of way that I carefully succeed to deny and conceal, dexterously masking it with a beat of extreme nausea as the distinct image of him and his sordid Whore indulging in an act of defilement, where my figure has become the main star, invades the farthest spectrum of my mind while I complete the final touches to his bandages.

"When I get my body back, I gotta' remember to take a _long_ bath."

"You know, when we were... downstairs fighting..." He quickly arcs up, totally ignoring my previous comment with a silent scoff in order to stretch a point that's just waiting to take flight. "I saw that old sparkle in your eyes, Xena."

He's right and I know it enough to gift him a firm stare in result, that's for sure.

"Even being in Callisto's body can't hide that. You enjoyed it."

There's a brief pause before the sounds exit his throat on a following string of disgruntled envy, threatening to crack the bones that make up the structure of his slightly tensed jaw.

"What surprises me is I didn't."

Another pause in thought, and before I realize, he's already jumping upon the option of an informative and helplessly sincere approach.

Posing as a victim has always been a second favourite on his styled list of manipulation, so why change it now?

"You know, it's always come easily, the... the bloodlust, the hate... This is the first time I've had to suffer the consequences."

"Spare me, Ares."

"You don't trust me?"

Is it that obvious I wonder, taking the time to look him directly in the eyes, their brown pools mirroring an honesty with which I prepare to claim as my own.

"I can't blame you, after all I've put you through. But a taste of mortality has really opened my eyes. And who knows? Once I regain my sword, maybe things'll be..."

He hesitates a minute, as if trying to find the right word for what's resting on the tip of his tongue.

"Different."

"A kinder, gentler God of War? We both know that's not gonna' happen." I heavily challenge, unable to perceive a world where War has accepted a life without destruction and mayhem, all those things Ares recognizes I'm fighting against.

"You changed, why not me?"

It's a good argument, one I am certain _he_ truly believes.

"I never lied to you, Xena. Oh, deceived, manipulated, yeah. But, a God need never lie." He admits, clearly stressing the last part of the sentence in an attempt to persuade my darkest convictions otherwise with a truth we can both understand.

By the blood of Kronos how I hate when he does that, using our past as a means to bargain, the whole conversation forcing me to stand my ground, eager to shut him down on the spot.

"But that's just it, Ares. You're not a God anymore. So as much as I'd like to believe you, even if you believe it, all bets'll be off once you get your Godhood back. And that's if you do."

"I think you might be surprised..." His notes contradict in a wave of euphuism, offended by the outcome of my reply as he gradually begins to lean forward, finding my eyes tracing the contour of his lips.

"About the change you can inspire in a man... or God."

At this moment I know we are about to kiss, and what's more, is the reality that I want it.

I want to believe him and I want to taste him; to feel his fire heating my core until we are both but sinners cooking in the kitchen of Hell, but our bodies react before my mouth, like we're a couple of teenagers who've just been caught doing the naughty, an ironic situation indeed, considering what could have escalated as Gagnon abruptly enters the room.

And before I know it, I'm standing in front of Ares, guarding his Mortal life with my own. And that's only the beginning...

"So that's where I put that thing. Sorry for the interruption."

"_Yes, yes you should be." _I fight to hold down a growl I know could erase an entire army from existence in a matter of minutes, dangerously wishing it had been my axe and my blade sticking out of this Cockroaches' spine as the Warlord lumbers away, leaving a Warrior Princess and her Mortal Beloved in peace.

For an instant we exchange expressions. Nothing needs to be said and nobody moves, for I know what lies in his heart as he does mine; doesn't mean I have to admit it though.

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**AV **↹** OR**


	2. And What Could Have Been

**AN: **Given the number of requests received by readers of both FFN and the WWOMB, I've added an alternative version to the original that played out in the episode. This one's for you guys, please enjoy!

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**~ And What Could Have Been ~**

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He leans down and gently kisses me, and it's like nothing I've ever experienced before; the sensation is soft, painful even... teasingly painful... in that way that only Ares can possess.

It's certainly not what I expect.

Closing my eyes, I throw my arms around his neck until my fingers slowly find themselves twisting into his hair.

Pushing my body flush against his own only seems to exert the fire between us as I fervidly start to kiss him back, finally coming to terms with the truth that I want him too, just as much as the desires that've been haunting his soul 'till the end of time.

The attack is so primitive, and after a beat he responds, a low groan rumbling like thunder inside his throat.

In the heat his hands slip into my hair and down my back to cup my backside, lifting me up and into his lap while that erotic tongue of his continues to explore my mouth.

Suddenly, he pulls back, eyes wide and dark as his hands knead my behind.

Damn! At this point I know he's sensed the slightest amount of apprehension and disgust riding the train inside my head, the idea that we're about to burn while I'm stuck in Callisto's deplorable body.

"If it makes you feel any better..." His surprisingly warm words caress hotly against my neck before trailing a line of light kisses towards my chest, the armour once covering this unholy figure gone within a flash. "Being in Callisto's body could never change the fact that all I see is you."

"Even if I were a snake-haired Gorgon?" I curiously tease, wondering if perhaps that would change his outward view.

"Xena, you could look like Cerberus and I'd still know it was you." The joke circles back, easing the fear that's gripped my heart; and now his mouth has found my breast, nipping playfully then coming back for a taste, the sensations making me arch and grind.

He growls lustfully, and swiftly with one fluid movement, clears the scrolls and maps off a desk sitting lonely in the corner so that they flutter to the ground, sweeps me up in his arms again and lays me down across the short end of the table so that my head is almost off the edge.

Lowering his pants, Ares reveals his impressive erection and gazes down at me, yet in a matter of minutes I become fully aware of the candles burning around us and instantly pick up on what he plans to do.

Despite the image it paints, I can't help but find the thought incredibly arousing, and it's enough to know that the smart chuckle he lets escape signals nothing more than a firm indicator of just how wet I've become.

It's strange, even in this body all these functions and feelings are still mine, the only difference being the skin I'm wearing.

_"My body doesn't make me who I am. My deeds do." _A statement from earlier enters the mind, but before there's even a chance to revise Ares turns me flat on my stomach, and the excitement, the mystery of the unknown and what's to come, is more than I can bear.

With a quick gasp, I recognize the touch of a finger as it gently brushes my clit, sending a shiver or pleasure racing up and down my spine.

Another couple of strokes and then he's gone, leaving me blind in the dark, when all of a sudden, there's the most remarkable sensation of hot wax dripping upon my back.

At first it's like someone's been crying a stream of fiery tears before the storm and the flood, as a soothing icy wetness gradually begins to melt the pain.

He does this several times, taking me to Tartarus then back; the cool cube of ice as it glides over and over across my hips, up my back and hang on... I've been turned over again, when did this happen?

A silent grin forms on his lips as the water trickles, and before I know it, his tongue is following the same path, blazing a trail of kisses from my chest right down to the core.

"Wait," I fight to speak, panting hard as he raises his head. "I'm not ready."

The look in his eyes says different, but Ares decides to humour me, playing along with my obvious delusion while licking and thrusting his tongue to the brink of proving this point.

Gazing down again, he breathes, a salacious smile across his face, and in a moment he's filling me, holding my wrists tightly above my head and thrusting deep.

I moan... _"Oh Yes."_

"Gods, Xena, you're so ready." He whispers in veneration.

Wrapping my legs around his waist, I hold him the only way I can as he stays standing, staring down at me, brown eyes glowing passionate and possessive.

He starts to move then, and I mean _really_ move.

This isn't fucking, it's making love; and I'm enjoying it!

Before I know, I'm moaning again. It's so raw, so carnal, making me so wanton.

I revel in his possession, his lust quenching mine.

He's moving with ease, luxuriating into me, enjoying me, his lips slightly parted as our breathing increases.

Abruptly, he twists his hips from side to side, and the sensation is exquisite.

"Ares..."

I close my eyes, feeling the build-up, that delicious, slow, step-climbing build pushing me higher and higher.

Oh God... his strokes increase slightly and I groan loudly.

I'm all sensation, all him, enjoying every thrust, every push that fills me.

He picks up pace, thrusting faster... harder... and my whole body his moving to his rhythm as my legs begin to stiffen and my insides quiver and quicken.

"Come on, Baby, give it up for me." Ares conjoles through gritted teeth, and the fervent need travelling along his voice, the strain, sends me over the edge.

I scream out his name in praise and passion as I touch the sun and burn, falling around him, falling down, back to a breathless, bright summit on Earth.

He slams into me and stops suddenly as he reaches his climax, pulling at my wrists and crying my name as he sinks gracefully and wearily onto me.

"What the Tartarus are you doing to me?" He breathes as he nuzzles my neck. "You sure weave some powerful magic."

He releases my wrists and I run my fingers through his hair, coming down from my high.

"You are mine." He says, each word a staccato. "Do you understand?"

He's so earnest, so impassioned, a zealot.

The force of his plea is so unexpected and disarming. I wonder why he's feeling like this?

"Yes, yours." I whisper, devoided by his fever.

He grabs my chin and kisses me roughly, then stands and holds his hand out to help me up.

"Always the gentleman." I murmer.

"A man can hope, Xena, dream even, and sometimes his dreams come true." The words reach for the sky, his eyes burning with assurance.

"So, on the desk, that's been a dream of yours?" I ask teasingly, trying humour to calm the heat between us.

He smiles an enigmatic smile that doesn't reach his eyes, and immediately I know what he's thinking.

As I start to retrieve my clothes though, getting them on just in time to see Gagnon burst into the room, it's only now I regard the reality I'm standing in front of Ares, secretly defending his life with my own; and that's not all...

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**~FIN~**


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